Sen. Bob Corker chastised his fellow Republicans on Tuesday for failing to allow a vote on his proposal giving Congress the chance to accept or reject tariffs imposed by the president, reports USA Today.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen tells The Leaf Chronicle that Hemlock Semiconductor shuttered its $1.2 billion plant in Clarksville – launched while he was governor – because of a dispute between China and the United States over tariffs. The comment was a prelude to declaring his support for efforts by Republican Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander to require congressional approval of President Trump’s proposed new tariffs.

Sen. Bob Corker introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would give Congress new authority to check the president’s trade moves, going forward with the legislation despite a personal appeal from President Trump to back off, reports the Washington Post.

Corker’s bill would require congressional approval when the president enacts tariffs under the auspices of national security, as Trump did last week in imposing levies on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

The legislation, which Corker released with a total of nine Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, is the most forceful congressional response to date to Trump’s protectionist trade agenda. For the first time, at least some Republicans are uniting behind a concrete plan to force the president to change course on trade, after months of pleas and appeals achieved little.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker outlined his proposal to give Congress authority to block tariffs during a meeting with fellow Republican senators Tuesday and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he may allow a vote on it, reports Politico.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker says he and others are “crafting” legislation requiring congressional authority over levying tariffs in response to President Donald Trump’s imposition of stiff steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union, according to the Times Free Press. Phil Bredesen, the Democrat running to replace him, has embraced the idea. Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn has not, though she’s concerned about the tariffs and “still trying to work through this.”

Republicans are bitterly protesting the Trump administration’s decision to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. allies with Tennessee’s two U.S. senators among them. Economically, there are suggestions Tennessee could suffer more than most states because of reliance on vehicle manufacturing and, politically, Politico reports Republicans are alarmed that the White House ignored their frenzied lobbying campaign and afraid that the party could suffer at the polls in November.

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker flew to Venezuela to help arrange the release of Josh Holt, a Utah man who had been imprisoned in the country, then joined President Trump, Holt and others at the White House Saturday to celebrate the Utah man’s freedom.

Excerpt from a Times Free Press report: Add Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to the list of elected Republican officials alarmed by President Donald Trump’s plans to look at using national security laws to impose heavy tariffs on imported vehicles and parts.